


Checking In

by Jestana



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Genre: Don't copy to another site, M/M, Missing Scene, References to death and killing, none happen in the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29887686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jestana/pseuds/Jestana
Summary: Eivor and Tarben check in with each other after the attack on Ravensthorpe.
Relationships: Eivor Varinsson/Tarben, Eivor/Tarben (Assassin's Creed)
Kudos: 27





	Checking In

**Author's Note:**

> I was very annoyed that neither you nor your lovers checked in with each other after that attack. So I wrote it myself. Enjoy!

"Tarben, are you all right?" Eivor had worried about what the attack meant for the gentle baker.

He looked up from Valka dabbing something on his knuckles. "I am well, love. I told you I could hold my own in a fight."

"I never doubted _that_." Shaking his head, he sat down beside Tarben and took his hand once Valka finished with it, finding the knuckles bruised and split from fighting with his fists. "You swore to abandon acts of violence."

Tarben crooked the fingers of his other hand under Eivor's beard to tilt his head up so clear blue eyes met warm brown. "This, tonight? It was not an act of violence."

"That was an awful lot of fighting and killing for something that was not violence." Eivor's gesture generally encompassed Ravensthorpe as Valka ducked out of the hut to give them a semblance of privacy.

A quiet chuckle rumbled from Tarben's broad chest. "That was defending our home, love. Protecting our clan." He cupped Eivor's cheek. "Our... family."

"I told you once, all you owe us is the work you love." Eivor covered Tarben's hand with his and brushed a kiss across the palm.

The lovely, gentle smile he loved spread across Tarben's face and he kissed Eivor's cheek. "I know, but I could not stay in the longhouse and leave defending our home to others when I could as well."

"You are truly at peace with having fought?" Eivor searched the warm brown eyes he had come to adore.

Tarben nodded, squeezing Eivor's hand gently. "I am. I will never go raiding with you, but I _will_ protect our clan and home, with fist or sword if needs must."

"I love you, Tarben," he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion, and drew Tarben's head down for a proper kiss.

Wrapping his strong arms around Eivor, Tarben returned the kiss with matched passion. When they parted for much-needed air, Tarben whispered, "I love you, too, Eivor."

"Before you two leave for Tarben's bakery, let me see to your injuries, Eivor," Valka interjected, ducking inside as she spoke.

Feeling like a guilty little boy, Eivor nevertheless let Valka fuss over the gashes and bruises he had received during the fighting earlier that evening. Once she finished, Valka shooed them out and they walked hand-in-hand to Tarben's bakery. Eivor still wished his lover had not needed to fight, but as long as Tarben was at peace with it, he would endeavor to accept it as well. Finally settled together under the covers of Tarben's bed, Eivor quietly asked, "Do you have something on your mind?"

"Most everyone here likes you," Tarben began, sounding hesitant. "Or at least respects you."

Eivor gave a huff of annoyance. "You want to talk about Dag."

"I do." Tarben nodded, kissing the top of Eivor's head. "I understand that you two have known each other for a long time..."

He scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, recalling again the sight of Dag throwing his axe into the Dane's back, killing any hope they would have had of learning more from the man. "If not for me, _Dag_ would be Sigurd's second, in charge of Ravensthorpe and... everything."

"He is an able warrior, but Ravensthorpe would be vastly different under his direction," Tarben sounded doubtful. "You and Randvi both recognize that there is more at work than can be seen. Dag... does not."

Touched and humbled, Eivor shifted to wrap his arms as far around Tarben as he could. "You are right in that respect. Leadership requires subtlety and diplomacy as well as strength of arms, neither of which can be said of Dag."

"What happened to place you as Sigurd's second rather than Dag?" Tarben inquired gently even as he returned Eivor's hug, ensuring the thick bearskin covered them both.

Burrowing even further into Tarben's embrace, Eivor told him, "When I was nine, my parents and the rest of my clan were slaughtered." Tarben's arms tightened around him in reaction. "Sigurd helped me escape and his father adopted me as a second son. From that moment, I trained and learned alongside him, taking Dag's place as his closest friend."

"He has said more than once that Sigurd would do things differently if he were here," Tarben mused, moving his hands up and down Eivor's back, working the muscles with his powerful hands. "Do you agree with him?"

Stifling groans and sighs of pleasure at the magic of Tarben's hands, Eivor somehow forced his brain to work. "N-no. I don't think so. I'm only--oh! Trying to do what's best for the clan, to help it grow as Sigurd instructed when I last saw him. Ohhhhh."

"What will you do about him?" Much to Eivor's dismay, Tarben stopped massaging his back.

It took him a few moments to gather his scattered thoughts. "There is nothing I _can_ do. Dag is too good a warrior to leave behind, but neither can I trust any advice he might offer."

"You have my support, no matter what happens with him," Tarben assured him, resuming his massage of Eivor's back.

He melted into the massage, barely managing to strangle out between groans, "Thank you."

Neither of them spoke again before eventually falling asleep in a tangle of sweaty, sated bodies.

**Author's Note:**

> So.... I started another playthrough to romance Tarben (as male!Eivor, naturally). His story, combined with the attack on Ravensthorpe, started the creative juices flowing and this was the result.


End file.
